Jeanne Moreau

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Lore & Background

Moreau was born in Paris to a French father, Anatole-Désiré Moreau, a restaurateur, and an English mother, Katherine Buckley, a dancer at the Folies Bergère. During World War II, the family split, and Moreau lived with her mother in Paris. At age 16, after attending a performance of Jean Anouilh's Antigone, she found her calling as an actress and later studied at the Conservatoire de Paris. Her parents separated permanently while she was at the conservatory. She made her theatrical debut in 1947 at the Avignon Festival and debuted at the Comédie-Française in Ivan Turgenev's A Month in the Country, becoming one of the leading actresses in the troupe by her 20s. Moreau began appearing in films with small parts in 1949 but remained primarily active in theatre for several years, including a year at the Théâtre National Populaire opposite Gérard Philipe and Robert Hirsch, then a breakout two years in dual roles in The Dazzling Hour by Anna Bonacci, then Jean Cocteau's La Machine Infernale, and another two-year run in Shaw's Pygmalion. From the late 1950s, after appearing in several successful films, she worked with emerging French filmmakers. Elevator to the Gallows (1958) with first-time director Louis Malle was followed by Malle's The Lovers (1959). She went on to collaborate with many notable directors, including François Truffaut (Jules et Jim, 1962), Michelangelo Antonioni (La Notte and Beyond the Clouds), Orson Welles (The Trial, Chimes at Midnight and The Immortal Story), Luis Buñuel (Diary of a Chambermaid), Elia Kazan (The Last Tycoon), Rainer Werner Fassbinder (Querelle), and Wim Wenders (Until the End of the World). She also worked as a director, beginning with Lumière (1976), and continued acting into the 2010s, winning the César Award for Best Actress for The Old Lady Who Walked in the Sea (1992). Moreau was also a vocalist, releasing several albums and performing with Frank Sinatra at Carnegie Hall in 1984. She was married to Jean-Louis Richard (1949–1964, separated in 1951) and had a son, Jérôme, with him. She was also married to American film director William Friedkin (1977–1979). She was a signatory of the Manifesto of the 343 in 1971, publicly announcing she had obtained an illegal abortion. Moreau died on 31 July 2017 at her home in Paris at the age of 89.

Reader's Guide

Jeanne Moreau's significance lies in her transformative impact on French cinema, particularly during the New Wave era. Her performance in Jules et Jim (1962) became her biggest international success, centered on her magnetic starring role. She worked with many of the best known New Wave and avant-garde directors. Moreau's career spanned seven decades, from her theatrical debut in 1947 to her final acting roles in the 2010s. She received numerous lifetime achievement awards, including a BAFTA Fellowship in 1996, a Cannes Golden Palm in 2003, and a César Award in 2008. Orson Welles called her "the greatest actress in the world," reflecting her stature. Beyond acting, she directed films, sang, and was a public figure who signed the Manifesto of the 343. In 1983, she was head of the jury at the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival. In 2005, she was awarded the Stanislavsky Award at the 27th Moscow International Film Festival. Her legacy endures as one of France's most accomplished actresses.

Did You Know?

• Moreau's mother was a dancer at the Folies Bergère, and her father was a restaurateur.
• At age 16, after seeing a performance of Jean Anouilh's Antigone, Moreau decided to become an actress.
• Moreau performed with Frank Sinatra at Carnegie Hall in 1984.
• She was a signatory of the Manifesto of the 343 in 1971, publicly announcing she had obtained an illegal abortion.
• Orson Welles called Moreau 'the greatest actress in the world.'

Roots and the Spark of a Vocation

Born in Paris on 23 January 1928, Jeanne Moreau grew up in a household shaped by two very different worlds. Her mother, Katherine Buckley, was an English dancer who had performed at the Folies Bergère and hailed from Oldham in Lancashire with part Irish ancestry; her father, Anatole-Désiré Moreau, was a French restaurateur. The family's faiths initially differed—her father was Catholic, her mother Protestant—but Katherine converted upon their marriage. When Jeanne was a young child the family relocated south to Vichy, and she fondly recalled summer holidays at Mazirat, a tiny village of just thirty houses nestled in a valley in the Allier, where, as she noted, every tombstone in the local cemetery bore the name Moreau. World War II fractured the household, and she spent the conflict years living with her mother in Paris. Formal schooling lost its grip on her, and it was only at sixteen, after attending a staging of Jean Anouilh's Antigone, that she recognized acting as her true calling. She went on to train at the Conservatoire de Paris, though her parents' permanent separation during those years meant her mother eventually returned to England with Jeanne's sister Michelle.

From the Comédie-Française to the New Wave

Moreau's stage career launched in 1947 when she debuted at the Avignon Festival, and she quickly earned a place in the Comédie-Française troupe, appearing in Turgenev's A Month in the Country. By her early twenties she was already counted among the company's leading women. While she took small film parts beginning in 1949, theatre remained her primary stage for several years: a season at the Théâtre National Populaire alongside Gérard Philipe and Robert Hirsch, a demanding two-year engagement in dual roles in Anna Bonacci's The Dazzling Hour, appearances in Cocteau's La Machine Infernale, and a two-year run in Shaw's Pygmalion. The turning point arrived in the late 1950s, when she began collaborating with a new generation of French directors. Her starring turn in Louis Malle's Elevator to the Gallows (1958) and the follow-up The Lovers (1959) established her as a screen presence of real power. The 1960s became her most prolific decade: she won the Cannes Best Actress prize for Seven Days... Seven Nights (1960), earned a BAFTA for Viva Maria! (1965), and delivered what many consider her finest performance in Truffaut's Jules et Jim (1962), a role that made her an international star. She also worked with Antonioni, Buñuel, Welles, Kazan, Fassbinder, Wenders, and Manoel de Oliveira, cementing her reputation as an actress of extraordinary range.

Friendships, Love, and a Voice for Change

Beyond the screen, Moreau cultivated a rich personal world. She counted among her closest friends some of the most celebrated writers of her era—Jean Cocteau, Jean Genet, Henry Miller, and Marguerite Duras, whose collection Outside includes an interview with her. Her romantic life was equally storied: she married Jean-Louis Richard in 1949 (they separated in 1951 and the marriage ended in 1964, and they had a son, Jérôme), later married American director William Friedkin in 1977 before parting in 1979, and in 1967 became the object of Tony Richardson's devotion, prompting his departure from Vanessa Redgrave, though the two never married. She also maintained relationships with directors Louis Malle and François Truffaut, fashion designer Pierre Cardin, and Greek actor Theodoros Roubanis. Moreau was no stranger to public advocacy. In 1971 she signed the Manifesto of the 343, publicly declaring that she had undergone an illegal abortion. She was also a vocalist, releasing several albums and sharing the stage with Frank Sinatra at Carnegie Hall in 1984. In 2009 she added her name to a petition supporting detained director Roman Polanski, arguing that arresting filmmakers traveling to festivals threatened the free exchange of artistic work.

Behind the Camera, a Lasting Legacy, and a Quiet End

As her career matured, Moreau reached behind the camera. She directed three films—Lumière (1976), L'Adolescente (1979), and a 1983 television documentary on Lillian Gish—while continuing to act well into her eighties, appearing in projects through the 2010s. Her later accolades were as impressive as her earlier ones: a César for Best Actress for The Old Lady Who Walked in the Sea (1992), a BAFTA Fellowship in 1996, the Cannes Golden Palm for lifetime achievement in 2003, and another César in 2008. She served as head of the jury at the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival in 1983 and received the Stanislavsky Award at the 27th Moscow International Film Festival in 2005. Orson Welles, a longtime collaborator and friend, simply called her the greatest actress in the world. Her close friend Sharon Stone presented a 1998 Academy of Motion Pictures life tribute at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Moreau died on 31 July 2017 at her Paris home at the age of eighty-nine; her body was found by her cleaning maid. In her final weeks she had spoken of feeling abandoned, lamenting that she could no longer act.